Rainbow in the Dark
by TheOstrichLord
Summary: It has been a year since the hundred year war ended, and Azula is locked up in a mental facility, hopelessly trying to fight off her inner demons. Inspired by the lyrics of Rainbow in the Dark by Dio.


**Authors Note: **Ok. So this is my second story. This story is, same as the first one, just me practicing before I move on to writing heavier, longer stories. I would really like it if you guys left reviews with constructive criticism, it really helps. I know that you guys already know it but just to be safe: I do not own A:TLA or any of it's characters blah blah blah, you know how it goes.

**Summary:** It has been a year since the hundred year war ended, and Azula is locked up in a mental facility, hopelessly trying to fight off her inner demons. Inspired by the lyrics of _Rainbow in the Dark_ by Dio.

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**Rainbow in the Dark**

The sun was setting, but it's beauty was hidden behind the gathering storm clouds. The heavy rain was beating down on the soft ground. A lone figure followed the road leading out of the city. He was wearing crimson robes lined with gold, it's large hood drawn to keep his face dry. He shivered as the cold water soaked the thin fabric. Maybe this wasn't the best time to make this trip. _No. I have to do it tonight._

It felt like he'd been walking for hours when he finally saw it in the distance. A lone structure, standing on top of a small hill. It was the only sign of any civilization that could be seen. _And for good reason, too._

As he got closer he could distinctly see the large iron gate in the wall surrounding the buildings courtyard. The building itself wasn't too tall. He could see the barred windows on all three floors. The only material that had been used to build it were gray bricks, which, with the help of the weather, made it look very depressing.

_Not like it wasn't already. _He had no fond memories of this place. Then again, he supposed nobody had pleasant memories of an asylum.

* * *

Azula was uneasy. Well...more so than usual. She sat in the corner of her small, padded cell, her thin arms clutching her knees tightly to her chest, rocking back and forth. Growing up, she had always been given the fanciest robes made of the finest fabrics, now however she was only wearing a dark read prison shirt and pants. And her hair, that she used to have the servants wash almost every day, was nothing but a tangled, uneven mess draped over her face. The only source of light in the cell was the small, barred window high up on the wall. For a second the room was flooded with light, followed by a loud roar. The storm was getting worse._  
_

She had been in here for a whole year. Or so she was told. She didn't really remember because every time she had one of her 'fits', which was often, they would drug her, so her memory was not much but a blur.

There were a few reason for her current mood. The first one being the weather. There had been another thunderstorm a few months back. She shuddered. She didn't want to remember it, but that didn't matter. Every single time a lightning struck, she was reminded of a time when she wielded that same power, and the fact that she had lost it along with everything else. _I have nothing. I AM nothing._

The second reason what that the sun had gone down, and _they _always came at night. Already she could here them whispering in her ear.

She wanted to sleep, even though she knew she would have nightmares, but whenever she closed her eyes she could _see_ them too. After a while though, keeping her eyes open didn't matter. _She _was the first one to step out of the dark corner on the other side of the room.

"How have you been, my daughter?"

"Shut up. Go away." The princess muttered back. She knew that it wasn't real, at least on some level. She'd tried to ignore them before but found that it didn't work.

"Now why would I do that?" Her mother asked, sounding just as hurt as she always did when Azula answered her like this.

"Because you did it before. You left me. Now stop pretending to care and leave me alone!" She unknowingly raised her voice.

Her mother just stood there looking at her for what felt like hours before she spoke again.

"But sweetie." She said in a voice that was so soft it sent shivers down the young girl's spine. "You _are_ alone."

Her mothers image shifted as soon as she finished the sentence. Now it was her father standing in front of her, wearing his royal cloak and golden, flame shaped crown.

"Look at you. Look at the state you're in. I was a fool to think you could ever become Fire Lord." He looked at her as if she was a viper-rat that had just crawled out of a sewer.

"It's not my fault! It was Zuko and that waterbending bi..."

"You were brought down by that peasant? You are truly unworthy to be counted among those of Sozin's bloodline." He said before she could even finish her sentence. His voice was full of disgust.

"N-no. I...I tried b-but..." She stammered while trying to swallow the lump that was rising in her throat. But before she could finish, her father vanished.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" She rose to her feet and screamed, only to fall back down and start sobbing violently.

It took a while for her to recover and she was surprised to find that none of the people that had been haunting her for the past year were there.

_They're gone. They're really gone! _She let out a sigh of relief and brought her hand up to wipe the tears of her face.

"Whats'ya doing there 'Zula?" She froze. It seemed she had celebrated to early. _That voice. _She slowly turned around, hoping that she was wrong. _Of course not._

There she was. Standing a few feet away from her. Sickeningly pink clothes. Brown hair tied back in a long braid. And that ever-present smile. _Ty Lee. _

"Hey 'Zula. Need some help there?" She reached out for the princess.

"Don't touch me!" She scramble backwards until her back hit the wall. The acrobat quickly pulled her hand away and pouted. "Are you still mad about what happened at the Boiling Rock?"

"_Mad _would be an understatement." The princess hissed. "You lied to me. You got me to trust you. You got me to let my guard down just so you could stab me in the back!" She screamed at her hallucination as tears started falling from her eyes yet again. Out of all the betrayals she had suffered, Ty Lee's had been the worst.

"I can see how you could think that. But I didn't lie you to you. I _really_ do care about you. I was just..."

"Liar! Liar! LIAR!" Azula curled up in a ball on the floor, rocking back and forth, screaming as the voices in her head mocked her. Lied to her. She screamed until her throat ached. She didn't stop rocking back and forth though and the screams were replaced by incoherent mumbling.

Suddenly she heard the clanging of metal that sounded whenever the door to her cell was opened. She looked up and saw what appeared to be her brother. _Why won't you just leave me alone. _

"Go away" She whimpered pathetically. "You're not real, just...just leave me alone." She couldn't take it anymore. They never left. They always came back.

"I realize you're not in the best of moods. I can just wait until you calm down a bit." He said calmly as he sat down, leaning his back against the wall.

After a while she looked up at him. His hair wasn't bound into a royal topknot, but hung loosely around his face. He was wearing red robes with a golden trim. He was soaked. _Why would he be wearing that? Unless..._

"A-are you really there?" She asked hesitantly. He didn't speak but gave her a curt nod as confirmation.

She pulled herself together and managed, with some difficulty, to sit up. "What are you doing here?"

He just watched her for a while before answering the question. "Well. I thought I'd pay my little sister a visit. Is there something wrong with that?"

She grinned and laughed bitterly at this. "Ohh come on _Fire Lord_ Zuzu. I've met bad liars but that was just too much." Her expression turned grim. "Why are you _really_ here?"

Awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck and averting her gaze, the Fire Lord again took his time before speaking, seemingly trying to think of the right way to answer the question.

"I'm here because...ugh. I'm here because I'm worried. When I saw the clouds gathering I knew there was going to be a storm and...you remember what happened last time there was a thunderstorm. Despite what you may think, I really don't want that to repeat itself."

Azula shivered. She _did_ remember what happened last time. Her finger slowly brushed over the ugly scar on her right wrist. She remembered what _she_ did. _Snap out of it. He's just baiting you...or something. _

"Do you honestly expect me to believe you _care? _You want something. So just spit it out and be done with it." She was horrified when she felt that the lump in her throat had returned. _Don't you dare cry in front of him. Don't give him the satisfaction._

With his short fuse there was no surprise that this made him angry. "You really do have a problem if you if you think I wouldn't care if you ki..." He sighed. His expression changed from irritation to pity. "People don't always want something from you. Not everybody is like father, you know."

"Hah. What a great job you've done proving that. You lock me up and have me drugged for over a year, then you come here and insist that you _care_ about me!" She didn't know whether this nonsense angered or amused her. _They all say that. They all lie. They left me. I am alone._ "You're right about one thing though. You're nothing like father. He wouldn't be stupid enough to think I would believe this crap!"

He knew that at this point she was just trying to get a rise out of him. Standing up and walking to the door he said: "You know what? I don't care whether you believe me or not. I came here to see if you were alright, and you are." As soon as he spoke those words her realized how stupid they sounded.

"Alright?" Azula repeated. "_Alright!?_ Ohhh yeah Zuko! Just look at me. I'm the picture of good health!" Those were the last words she could manage before bursting into laughter. Sadly, it wasn't her trademark dark chuckle, but the mad cackling Zuko remembered from the day of Sozin's Comet. He hurried out the door and strode quickly down the dark hallway. He couldn't handle this. His pace quickened as his sister's laughter, echoing down the hall, slowly turned into terrifying screams.

He didn't slow down until he had cleared a pretty long distance from the asylum. Stopping to catch his breath, he thought about how every few months he felt guilty for not visiting his sister often enough and how, after every visit, he remembered why he didn't. He would be the first to admit that their relationship had never been great, but seeing her like this still very painful.

The saddest thing, he thought, was that she had so much potential. She was a bending prodigy and her mind had been sharper than those of most generals, even though she was merely a teenager. _She could have been so much more than this. _He thought. _But she was born into the wrong family._ It seemed that everything his father touched withered and died. Zuko had just been lucky to get out when he did. Even if he didn't see it like that at the time._  
_

Now, this was all that was left of her. A broken down shell of the once great Princess Azula. Crying and screaming at the visions created by her broken mind.

_Alone..._

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Awwwwww. Poor Azula. :( Once again I remind you that I want complete honesty in your reviews. Constructive criticism is something I really need. It helps me become a better writer. I think that's it. Yeah, it is. Peace out!


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